FOUR cyclists have already been killed on NSW roads in the first two months of 2013, worrying the state's authorities. Transport for NSW says in the whole of 2012, seven cyclists killed on NSW roads.

Centre for road safety general manager Marg Prendergast said the four cyclist deaths to February 20 were "alarming".

Bicycle safety advocacy organisation, the Amy Gillett Foundation, said the spike showed more work needed to be done.

"There has been much good work by road authorities, governments and cycling bodies to improve cycling safety particularly in the area of infrastructure at a time when participation is growing," CEO Tracey Gaudry said.

"Unfortunately these sobering facts say one thing: it is not enough."

The Amy Gillett Foundation was established in memory of the elite Australian cyclist, who was killed while training in Germany in 2005.

Not surprised, plus numerous who suffered minor to major injuries. With recent exponential growth in cycling and the lagging of supporting infrastructure and experience of other road users and new cyclists, this numerical outcome is expected. Question is, will the government implement suitable improvement promptly?

I've only been riding for a year and already I've seen a huge increase in numbers of cyclists out and about but as has been mentioned unfortunately in most places the infrastructure is shocking or nonexistant. Until some thought is put into how motorists and bicycles can properly coexist we'll be seeing a lot more deaths.

FOUR cyclists have already been killed on NSW roads in the first two months of 2013, state's authorities still couldn't care less. Transport for NSW says in the whole of 2012, seven cyclists killed on NSW roads.

Centre for road safety general manager Marg Prendergast said the four cyclist deaths to February 20 were "alarming".

Bicycle safety advocacy organisation, the Amy Gillett Foundation, said the spike showed more work needed to be done.

"There has been much good work by road authorities, governments and cycling bodies to improve cycling safety particularly in the area of infrastructure at a time when participation is growing," CEO Tracey Gaudry said.

"Unfortunately these sobering facts say one thing: it is not enough."

The Amy Gillett Foundation was established in memory of the elite Australian cyclist, who was killed while training in Germany in 2005.

More work needs to be done? That is a pretty nebulous suggestion. Jump, how high? Higher than that... but how high?! Still not high enough!

Did my first run down the M7 yesterday evening with the FPR crew, and it really is a fantastic piece of infrastructure. Should we have similar things elsewhere? Private sector put that one in... it does make me wonder if they realise the enormous cycling culture that has sprung up around the M7, and it's not unreasonable to think the same could develop with a similar M4 or M5 cycleway... lights on the side of the path, few curves etc.

Xplora wrote:More work needs to be done? That is a pretty nebulous suggestion. Jump, how high? Higher than that... but how high?! Still not high enough!

Did my first run down the M7 yesterday evening with the FPR crew, and it really is a fantastic piece of infrastructure. Should we have similar things elsewhere? Private sector put that one in... it does make me wonder if they realise the enormous cycling culture that has sprung up around the M7, and it's not unreasonable to think the same could develop with a similar M4 or M5 cycleway... lights on the side of the path, few curves etc.

The M7 is amazing - by far the most enjoyable bit of riding infrastructure I've ever seen. It's just awesome. Wide, pretty smooth and well lit. You can really hammer along there too in pretty good safety. I spend a lot of my time on there in the 35-55km/h bracket. I know some of those Peter Sagan wannabes get along there a lot faster than I do (hangs head in shame), but hey, how cool is that.

Can you imagine that all the way along the M4 from say Lapstone or Emu Plains or so, down to Strathfield and then maybe continuing it on somehow? Surely there must be room? Run it along the Parramatta river perhaps or something like that and get it all the way into the city, to around Circular Quay. That'd be heaven for me (and bye-bye train travel). And for sure it'd be used too. I reckon you'd get a lot of people off the M4 and out of their cars.

Has anyone ever thought to drag some of these bureaucrats out onto the M7 for a few consecutive weekends on a Saturday or Sunday morning? I'll volunteer!

However, it's been a pretty horrible time in this recent period losing so many people in a short period of time. That's pretty sad that it took these deaths to bring this issue to the forefront. I hope they keep these people in their minds when they are considering how to proceed.

Last edited by g-boaf on Wed Feb 20, 2013 3:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

These last two were eventual solutions put in after complaints at the lousy treatment of cyclists in the initial tollway design that left us to navigate through time consuming multiple pedestrian crossings. I have little faith in the quality of private road construction provision for cyclists. No shared trail lighting anywhere on the Eastlink trail by the way.

These last two were eventual solutions put in after complaints at the lousy treatment of cyclists in the initial tollway design that left us to navigate through time consuming multiple pedestrian crossings. I have little faith in the quality of private road construction provision for cyclists. No shared trail lighting anywhere on the Eastlink trail by the way.

Purpose built underpasses and flyover bridges on the M7 Cycleway.

Here is a vid done by one of our friendly mods

slower viewing at night

pretty lucky eh

Last edited by TimW on Wed Feb 20, 2013 3:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

These last two were eventual solutions put in after complaints at the lousy treatment of cyclists in the initial tollway design that left us to navigate through time consuming multiple pedestrian crossings. I have little faith in the quality of private road construction provision for cyclists. No shared trail lighting anywhere on the Eastlink trail by the way.

It's entirely off the road, and they just have S-curves going underneath or above the main motorway. So end to end, you don't go near any roads. They really did it well. It's really the Rolls Royce of cycleways. Well thought out and well done. And it's one of the places were us more sporting cyclists can go more quickly without upsetting people.

TimW's videos are good. I've never been there at night as the route I use is closed as 6:30pm, so I can't get there without having to navigate roads I'd prefer not to use. I'd move out there closer to it just to get that.

Mind you, lots of northern and western suburbs boys with their toys are really not very nice towards cyclists. You know the type! Any time I ride out that way they seem much more prevalent than in the eastern suburbs.

il padrone wrote:Mind you, lots of northern and western suburbs boys with their toys are really not very nice towards cyclists. You know the type! Any time I ride out that way they seem much more prevalent than in the eastern suburbs.

TimW's videos are good. I've never been there at night as the route I use is closed as 6:30pm, so I can't get there without having to navigate roads I'd prefer not to use. I'd move out there closer to it just to get that.

Gboaf, one night i was comming back from a long ride down to Brighton Le sands, and just as i got the the rear of the reservoir, the security guard was locking the gate. He would not budge so i had to think of plan "B". I ended up riding back down the the new road and dropping down into the rear of the industrial estate, and worked my way back to the cycleway comming back to chandos road etc. Found it to be quite a nice ride and safe.

TimW's videos are good. I've never been there at night as the route I use is closed as 6:30pm, so I can't get there without having to navigate roads I'd prefer not to use. I'd move out there closer to it just to get that.

Gboaf, one night i was comming back from a long ride down to Brighton Le sands, and just as i got the the rear of the reservoir, the security guard was locking the gate. He would not budge so i had to think of plan "B". I ended up riding back down the the new road and dropping down into the rear of the industrial estate, and worked my way back to the cycleway comming back to chandos road etc. Found it to be quite a nice ride and safe.

This one is transport for NSWs problem, and this one is where a fast dedicated gradesep (ie gradesep from cross roads to have the same priority as the motorway) cycleway should always be provided for any motorway, as a matter of safety policy, and of allowing the road to continue to fulfill the function of a road for all citizens.

Not sure you are right about the Finnish cyclist Zero (1) he is reported to be riding downhill which makes it a right hand corner - if he ran wide he would have been on the left. (2) there is nothing I have seen to say he was a recreational cyclist, at 11am he could equally have been riding to the beach or the shops.

Policing fail. Ridden the road often enough on both types of transport to know what that road is like

How on earth is that a Policing fail ? or are you assuming Police should Patrol that road 24 hours a day without attending to anything else

Tim, I'd tend to agree with Zero. I ride that road often. The police are generally present most weekends at Berowra and sometimes the flat stretch through Cowan, but I've never seen them stationed beyond Cowan on the winding road through to the Hawkesbury where this accident took place. Motorcyclists and rev-head Subarau Imprezza aficionados know this and they cut loose once past Cowan. A police campaign that focuses on this winding stretch of the road on Saturday or Sunday mornings would be most welcome, if technically possible, to deter those that treat it as a race track.

This stretch of road has several hundred recreational cyclists every Saturday and Sunday morning, they far outnumber motorists and motorcyclists. The popularity of this ride is due to its perceived safety, but there are dangerous stretches where the road is shared, narrow and winding. Take care.

Policing fail. Ridden the road often enough on both types of transport to know what that road is like

How on earth is that a Policing fail ? or are you assuming Police should Patrol that road 24 hours a day without attending to anything else

Tim, I'd tend to agree with Zero. I ride that road often. The police are generally present most weekends at Berowra and sometimes the flat stretch through Cowan, but I've never seen them stationed beyond Cowan on the winding road through to the Hawkesbury where this accident took place. Motorcyclists and rev-head Subarau Imprezza aficionados know this and they cut loose once past Cowan. A police campaign that focuses on this winding stretch of the road on Saturday or Sunday mornings would be most welcome, if technically possible, to deter those that treat it as a race track.

This stretch of road has several hundred recreational cyclists every Saturday and Sunday morning, they far outnumber motorists and motorcyclists. The popularity of this ride is due to its perceived safety, but there are dangerous stretches where the road is shared, narrow and winding. Take care.

Point to point cameras detecting how past you get from A to B might help - not sure if they work well with motor bikes though!

They could amend legislation so that NSW Police can put in covert mobile speed cameras in areas they deem they are warranted. They would make a mint on that section of road around Cowan, even in the RNP down south.

It is an attitude thing - racers gunna race. We all do it, just some of us choose on safer places to do it than others. Sadly, motor vehicles and blind corners on public roads don't make for very good race tracks. Boy racers don't understand this, taking their cars and licences is the only way to make it sink in.

Policing fail. Ridden the road often enough on both types of transport to know what that road is like

How on earth is that a Policing fail ? or are you assuming Police should Patrol that road 24 hours a day without attending to anything else

Tim, I'd tend to agree with Zero. I ride that road often. The police are generally present most weekends at Berowra and sometimes the flat stretch through Cowan, but I've never seen them stationed beyond Cowan on the winding road through to the Hawkesbury where this accident took place. Motorcyclists and rev-head Subarau Imprezza aficionados know this and they cut loose once past Cowan. A police campaign that focuses on this winding stretch of the road on Saturday or Sunday mornings would be most welcome, if technically possible, to deter those that treat it as a race track.

This stretch of road has several hundred recreational cyclists every Saturday and Sunday morning, they far outnumber motorists and motorcyclists. The popularity of this ride is due to its perceived safety, but there are dangerous stretches where the road is shared, narrow and winding. Take care.

Condolences to the Cowan riders family and friends.

+1. I have been closed shaved by speeding motorcyclists descending Brooklyn Hill on many, many occasions. Coming up the hill, I saw a motorcyclist speed between two cyclists riding in the left lane (there are two lanes) who were around 1.5m apart (the female rider got a shock and fell). My wife has been passed on the left while riding in the left lane. There need to be speed cameras installed on this section of road.

Policing fail. Ridden the road often enough on both types of transport to know what that road is like

How on earth is that a Policing fail ? or are you assuming Police should Patrol that road 24 hours a day without attending to anything else

They need to use amphometers or something else that lets them get readings between corners in the fast sections (I don't think amphometer mid corner is a good idea), which their radars/lasers cannot do (sample time for a bookable offence is not trivially short).

Almost no-one speeds on the long straights unless they've seen oncoming speeders (ie they don't think there is any police about), and I'd be probably in less net danger on a bicycle on the straights because I'm not likely to be struck by someone running wide, and the worst talentless gits who are almost looking at the front wheel when exiting corners will not spot an amphometer mid chute at all. IMO the speed limits aren't "unreasonable" and if they did actually penetrate the middle then they'd probably be able book near every single motorcyclist, and for 30km/hr+ offences.

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